Liquid crystalline polymer films are used in various optical and dynamical applications because of their unique optical and dynamical properties based on phase structures and orientation structures of liquid crystal molecules. Characteristics of such liquid crystalline polymer films differ according to phase structures and orientation structures of liquid crystal molecules. Liquid crystalline polymers can be classified in terms of phase structures into four generally known types which are nematic, cholesteric, smectic and discotic liquid crystals. Utilizing properties peculiar to these phase structures, liquid crystalline polymer films are used in various applications. For example, in JP3-291601A is disclosed a technique for using a film of a nematic liquid crystalline polymer as a retardation plate such as .lambda./4 plate. In JP3-87720 is disclosed a technique for using a film of a cholesteric liquid crystalline polymer as a compensator for a liquid crystal display. Further, it is known as in JP1-65124A that a film of a smectic liquid crystalline polymer finds use as an optical filter.
As noted above, liquid crystalline polymer films exhibit various characteristics depending on their phase structures. They exhibit different characteristics also according to arrangements of liquid crystal molecules in liquid crystal structures, namely according to orientation structures. Therefore, a liquid crystalline polymer film having such a liquid crystal phase structure or orientation structure so far not known finds a new application and the development of such a film has been keenly desired.